Original Coverage & Source Attribution: www.boston.com
Entertainment
Set to premiere Nov. 23, the Netflix series is one of several screen adaptations of Read’s high-profile — and controversial — case.
By Abby Patkin
2 minutes to read
Netflix just released the first trailer for its three-part Karen Read docuseries, taking viewers back to one of the biggest — and most divisive — true crime stories in Massachusetts history.
Set to premiere Nov. 23, the Netflix series offers an overview of Read’s relationship with her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, and their fateful bar outing in Canton on Jan. 28, 2022.
“It was festive. It was fun,” Chris Albert, a former neighbor of O’Keefe’s who drank with the couple at a local bar that night, says in the trailer. “Typical Friday night in a small-town community.”
The fun wouldn’t last; hours later, O’Keefe was found dead outside a home belonging to Albert’s brother, fellow Boston officer Brian Albert. Authorities quickly accused Read of drunkenly backing her SUV into O’Keefe while dropping him off at a house party, but Read blamed other afterparty guests for allegedly killing O’Keefe and conspiring with police to frame her for murder.
Her case garnered international attention, with massive crowds surrounding the Dedham courthouse where she was tried for killing O’Keefe. After a high-profile 2024 mistrial, jurors in Read’s 2025 retrial acquitted her of murder and manslaughter charges. In the end, she was convicted only of a drunk driving misdemeanor.
According to Netflix, the upcoming docuseries features interviews with O’Keefe’s family and friends, trial jurors, and some of the afterparty guests who were inside Brian Albert’s home after midnight on Jan. 29, 2022. Monday’s trailer also appears to feature interviews with accident reconstructionist Judson Welcher and digital forensics expert Ian Whiffin, both of whom testified for the prosecution at Read’s trial.
Directed by Danielle Johnson Cutts, the Netflix series is one of several screen adaptations of Read’s case. Lifetime debuted its scripted take on the legal saga in January, and Prime Video has said it is working on a limited series starring Pittsfield native Elizabeth Banks. Read and one of her defense attorneys, Alan Jackson, are also partnering with LBI Productions for a scripted adaptation, and Matt Damon previously announced that his production company is in the early stages of developing a movie about Read.
Watch the Netflix docuseries trailer:
Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between. She has been covering the Lindsay Clancy murder case since January 2023.
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